According to the betting ring, the wrong unbeaten three-year-old won yesterday's Castlemartin and La Louviere Studs Gladness Stakes but whereas Perigee Moon became the latest Ballydoyle classic hope to disappoint, Softly Tread has emerged as a contender for the Irish 1,000 Guineas.
Like the evens favourite Perigee Moon, the Con Collins-trained filly won twice as a juvenile but even with the disadvantages of carrying 1lb overweight and 13mms of overnight rain turning the ground heavy, Softly Tread was the younger horse that emerged with her reputation enhanced.
"She has a good heart and will be much better on good ground. That's very soft ground and I didn't welcome all the rain last night," said Collins and the veteran trainer also had the bonus of breeding the winner too.
That overnight rain resulted in Dermot Weld taking out the top-rated older horse Pine Dance but it was Weld's other runner Social Harmony that presented the only threat to Softly Tread after the hard pulling Perigee Moon faded over a furlong out to finish just sixth.
"They went very slowly. It was only a walking race and being by Hennessy he wouldn't have liked that ground," said Aidan O'Brien. Perigee Moon was later reported to be "distressed" by the Turf Club vet.
The newcomer Ice Dancer did much better for O'Brien in the mile and a quarter maiden but still was left far behind another debutant in Rayyana who may yet emerge as a Vodafone Epsom Oaks contender.
One of three John Oxx runners in the race, the sister to Sinndar's pacemaker Raypour travelled beautifully throughout and won very easily to justify considerable market confidence.
"She's well entered up and is in the Oaks but while she's promising, you never know what can happen," said a typically cautious Oxx.
The Oxx, John Murtagh team later doubled up with the odds-on Ancelin who turned the two mile conditions race into a procession.
Racing opened with a lesson on the value of experience as the first three in the five furlong juvenile maiden had all previous racecourse experience and it was Tommy Stack's £6,000 Doncaster purchase Dangerous Years that came out ahead of the favourite Agnetha.
The Ballydoyle team did hit the mark with the impeccably bred newcomer King Of Tara who won the mile maiden by five lengths for his breeder and joint-owner Robert Sangster.
The 18-year-old claimer Patrick Cosgrave took the nine-furlong handicap on Always Rainbows.
